Florian Writz forces them to argue

The “joke era”, as internet slang goes, didn’t last that long in Germany after all!

Julian Nagelsmann brought the Germans front and center in world football after successive periods of underachievement under Joachim Low on his last legs, followed by Hansi Flick.

A statement was all it took to achieve this turnaround, and it came in their Euro opener.

Fueled by their new core of emerging superstars, they swept Scotland 5-1 and firmly added their name to the list of favorites to lift the trophy, a conversation in which they were somewhat of an outsider.

Portugal has become a popular choice, France is always on the scene, Spain has pedigree, while England’s individual talent is breathtaking.

However, with this victory, Germany announced that they are as formidable a threat as any and could come back to reclaim their crown as international kings, having not really lived up to expectations since winning the Confederations Cup in 2017.

Florian is blooming

Florian Wirtz came to this tournament after an unforgettable season with Bayer Leverkusen. He was the heart of a perfect attacking unit that led Xabi Alonso’s side to unsurpassed Bundesliga glory.

The only question about him was how much of his performances benefited from the exemplary tactical system instilled by Alonso and how much was his own mercurial talent.

If the first game of the tournament was any indication, it was more the second than the first.

He became Germany’s youngest goalscorer at the Euros and the way he treated his team-mates spoke of a player with the world at his feet.

Nagelsmann has found a winning recipe for his prodigies to play together and the performance of Jamal Musiala alongside Wirtz bodes well for Germany’s chances going forward.